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It may not drill for oil but it'll certainly drill holes in most things

DeWalt tools are possibly the best tools on the market at the moment, well, I really think so and to be honest I have used so many different brabded tools over my time as a budding DIYer that I believe I can give my honest opinion about that fact. Although I do have to say that JCB tools are getting better with each addition to their collection.But as for DeWalt, they are simply brilliant at designing safe, trusted, reliable and, most importantly, powerful tools that make a tough job as simple as opening a door.

I do have to say that DeWalt don't only make tools, they also make other building trade items such as clothing, footwear, safety equipment and even sturdy carrying cases, with each item being as strong and reliable as the others.

Although before I go on about the greatness that is DeWalt I do have to warn people that good quality equipment does come at a price, and for DeWalt goods, you may pay a higher price but you do get a higher quality piece of hard ware.

And it is one particular piece of hard ware that I am the proud owner of, although I really do wish I could afford more. With this item being the DeWalt DC745KA 12volt cordless hammer drill, which, as the name states, is a 12 volt battery power drill with that extra bit of kick for those stubborn walls.

Firstly, let me get the boring bit out of the way with, the specs of this drill...

In the box you should get...* The drill* A charger which can charge the battery in one hour* 2 rechargeable batteries* A blow mould plastic carrying case

And what does it offer..?* It is 12 volt, (as I said)* It has a choice of 17 torque control selection* Two speed settings* Reverse feature* Electronic brake system for faster stopping* Rubber soft grip around the handle* Internal fan system for keeping the motor cool

What does this drill look like then..?

It looks like any other rechargeable battery operated drill, even though it's colours and mainly yellow and black, with a spot of tow of silver. But it is hiding more power than your standard battery drill, mainly down to the fact that it is built by DeWalt and anyone that has ever used a tool built by this company know, they build there tools to last.The entire drill, with the battery included, is approximately 230mm long by 240mm high and weighs in at about 2KG, which is a good size for a battery drill with this much power.

The power for this drill comes from a battery pack which fits in the bottom of the handle, being released by pressing the little notches on the sides.Then, on the handle, there is a very comfortable grip indeed, with a black soft section on the front and back so that it never feels uncomfortable in your hand.Just above the front grip on the handle there is the little trigger which, even though it is little, it is easy to squeeze and this then gives you a lot more control over the speed of the drill itself.Then we come to the main section of the drill, the part which houses the motor so that the power of this little beast can be unleashed. At the front there is the keyless chuck, which, with the locking mechanism on the drill, can be unscrewed with one hand, allowing you to swap your drill bits in seconds.Coming back from the chuck there is the torque, which gives you 17 different settings to choose from so that you don't 'over tighten' the screws in the most delicate of work. These torque setting are achieved by turning the dial with the numbers on until you find the right number you want, this is a bit of trail and error but work in the way that when that when say a screw is drilled into wood and it is screwed in so far, the torque kicks in, (usually on lower numbers), and the chuck stops turning as you hear the torque clicking, letting you know that the screw is at the depth you selected. If you want it deeper then turn the dial to a higher number and drill again until you hear the clicking and the chuck stops turning... this is the trial and error process, but once you've found the torque setting you can then tighten those screws without worrying about going to deep.

If you turn the dial around until the little 'arrow' is pointing at the hammer symbol the you will then be in the 'hammer' drill selection, which not only turns the chuck so you can drill, it also moves the chuck backwards and forwards slightly at a very fast speed so that the chuck sort of punches its way into the things you're drilling into. The hammer drill should really only be used for very hard drilling, such as masonry.

Then, on the top of the drill, just behind the torque setting dial, there is the 2 speed selections, which is a slider with a number either end. This speed selection gives you more choice of how fast you want to actually drill, but again depends on the thing you're drilling.At the rear of the drill there are a lot of slats which are vents for the very powerful little motor, which help keep the internal motor as cool as cucumber, so to speak, and due to the fact that this has a sort of built in fan system, there's very little chance of this motor over heating, even if you give it some 'welly' all day long.

And I nearly forgot, the is a little 'holder' on front of the battery slot at the bottom of the handle, this is a handy little place to store a screwdriver 'bit' into as th elitttle metal clips will grip the bit into place.Then, on the opposite side to this there is a little hole which is there so that you could, if you want to, attach a cord through it so that you can wrap the cord around your wrist so that if you should lose grip of the drill it won't fall to the ground.

The batteries that come with this one, yes I said batteries as there are two of them, are both quick charging and take about an hour each to fully charge. But the good thing is that as each one can last more than an hour you can always have one on charge whilst using the other on the job, so there's the possibility that you can continue drilling with the only break being when you change the batteries.As for changing the batteries, this is a matter of pressing the little 'grips' that are on the side where the battery slots into the handle, slot the battery into place and the little grips will keep it there. Simple really.The charger that comes with this drill looks like a wad of yellow plastic, with a few slats around it. These slats are to allow the fast charger to keep cool whilst the battery, which is slotted into the middle of the charger, charges.

The chuck can accommodate anything from 1.5mm bits to a maximum of 13mm bits, which offers you a vast range of bits to use in it.It does have maximum capacities which are a guide so that this drill will give you a great performance over and over again.Those capacities are...Wood is 28mm, metal and masonry being 13mm, although this is ag guide and is the information written on the box really.

My Opinion...

As I said, I like DeWalt as I find them to be remarkably good tools, the only trouble is you need a small mortgage to get a good enough collection going, so I am getting a tool at a time until I won the lottery of course.This one is yet another brilliant tool that I have bought and, even though it cost a few quid, in fact it cost quite a few quid, but my family don't mind going without food for a few weeks, I am glad I bought it.It is easy to use and is a good weight indeed so that I can drill away without my arms feeling like they want to fall off as they ache so much.

It may only be a 12 volt battery but to be honest it has the kick of some 18volt units that I have used, even going as far as to say it would be on par with a 24volt drill for getting through the job in hand.The chuck is keyless, like many drills these days, which makes it easier to change bits in the middle of that technical job you're doing, and changing the bits in this drill is a breeze indeed, especially with the 'chuck locking' mechanism with in the drill.The torque on this drill is spot on, giving you full control of how tight you want to get that screw into your work, and with the electronic brake when you let go of the trigger the chuck comes to an abrupt stop within milliseconds, giving you that extra bit of control when drilling specific depths.

It has more power than many drills that I have used, including those made by some well known companies that also make good quality tools, but DeWalt have certainly taken the lead and will stay ahead of the game if they carry on making top quality equipment such as this drill.

The case is as strong as the drill itself, so to speak, with the drill, batteries and the charger fitting snugly inside it without rattling around when you carry it around. But if you do put other items in the case, such as bits, screws etc, then they will rattle around inside.

So what about the price of this remarkable tool..?This drill sells for a hole drilling £120 to £180, or more, but once you've paid for this tool you'll never need, or feel the need, to buy any other drill ever again.

Would I recommend this drill..?Yes I certainly would as it is without doubt the best drill I have used in a long long time, and I believe it will stay that way for many years.It may be a bit on the high priced side but for me it is well worth every penny.